The garden year has basically ended for me here in Iowa except for clean up and mulching for the winter. I'm looking at my iris collection to see where I can improve it, where it needs filling out. I've been looking at my front rows and remembering how much I love the early blooms of my little Dwarf iris (SDB). Nothing like iris blooms in early April to perk up a spring day!
Apricot Tart is always a good bloomer for me.
Baby Blessed loves to bloom in the spring and usually returns to bloom again for me in the fall.
My Dwarfs often have to bloom thru late frosts and light snow falls.
Cornhusker Autumn is a brilliant yellow with a lovely lavender beard.
I have grown to love the little ones too, and picked up about 40 new ones this year. Can't wait to see them. I ordered most of them from Winterberry Gardens, and she sent me 3 or 4 of each. I also got quite a few from Mid America, and they have tremendous increases already.
We grow more SDBs than anything else. Winterbury has the 'oldies' as well as the new. Both Mid-America and Aitken's Salmon Creek are excellant sources.
Some of the best ones I have came from our own LaurieF's Shadowood. For the quality and price they can't be beat. I also got some very nice ones from Superstition. Blue J has a small number of the meidans, but you get two for the price, and the ones they did have were very nice.
I need to get more of the MDBs. I have only 4 of them.
For MDBs go back to Winterberry garden. They have the longest list.
40 new SDBs will keep you busy for a while.
Looked at the picture of garden at Wandasflowers. WOW!
Winterberry does have quite a few. Laurie/ Shadowood has around 30 listed. And Mid America around 20. Pretty good selection available.
This will be my first year for SDB and MTB and MDB and Arils! I am hoping for a bountiful spring!
The Dwarfs are just too pretty to ignore! I couldn't believe that "Smart" would actually be such an eye-popping blue!
Bedford Lilac is a softer blue, but just as welcome with the tulips & daffodils.
This little "What, Again?" came from Laurie. Unusual color combo!
Webmaster is not only dark, but has the plicata I love so much in my TBs.
Wanda, What Again may very well rebloom for you, too! It's rebloomed once for me up here.
Beautiful pictures, Wanda and Laurie. Hope to have some to post in the spring.
These pics are all Wanda's. I'm afraid I can't take credit for any of them (as much as I'd like to). ;-)
Georgeous, Wanda.
Re 'Smart', more purple than blue in our soil. Great grower--fertile if anyone wishes to use it in hybridizing.
I was surprised that Smart was so blue--it almost glows!
Chanted is an unusual pink--very prolific!
Blue Pools is sweet, but I'm having trouble filming it. New camera with a close up may help in 2008.
Being Busy is a good example of the unusual color combinations dwarfs can bring to your spring garden.
Blues are very hard to photograph. Mike Lowe says use blue filters (or two of them). I don't know how to work that if you have a digital camera. For same pattern as Blue Pools, have you seen Hi Sailor (Gatty)?
